how to grow mushrooms the easy way

canndo

Well-Known Member
pftek is good for a small first time grower that wants to invest no time or money into growing. i used it once. worked out good.
I posted this thread as an alternative to it. Pf tech is slow, uses too many auxiliary procedures and items and was never designed for anything but profiting the syringe seller.
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
I posted this thread as an alternative to it. Pf tech is slow, uses too many auxiliary procedures and items and was never designed for anything but profiting the syringe seller.
Regret it after talking to people and reading a little bit more. You're absolutely right p.f. Tek does suck. I really just didn't know where to begin and a lot of people just told me that it's great for first timers so I just rolled with it. The thing is most of the experienced people get annoyed with all the noob questions and troll me. There's soooo much info that I've read and don't know what's good and what's not and get conflicting answers on what teks to do. Idk what's bs. Really just wanted like one or two guys that really know what they're doing to talk with and maybe walk me through some s*** when they have time. Just sucks that it's something that I just discovered that can help me, like life changing help, that I'm goin fb go have to give up on because I'm failing.
 
Last edited:

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
Regret it after talking to people and reading a little bit more. You're absolutely right p.f. Tek does suck. I really just didn't know where to begin and a lot of people just told me that it's great for first timers so I just rolled with it. The thing is most of the experienced people get annoyed with all the noob questions and troll me. There's soooo much info that I've read and don't know what's good and what's not and get conflicting answers on what teks to do. Idk what's bs. Really just wanted like one or two guys that really know what they're doing to talk with and maybe walk me through some s*** when they have time. Just sucks that it's something that I just discovered that can help me, like life changing help, that I'm goin fb go have to give up on because I'm failing.
It seems like a major time suck to have to start over , but it will be worth it if you think your tek has failed. The jar tek works if you follow it. Some people complain there's too many steps towards cleaniness. Well, there's a reason for it, especially as a first timer. This thread will help you learn the dos and donts. You will get sick of picking fruits doing jar tek lol.
I see your microdosing with great results. The good news is you really dont need more than .5 of a gram a day( i go with .1) 5 days on, 2 days off. So a quarter/half should supply you while you wait for yours to grow. I wouldn't give up on your tek just yet. You've got good members giving you tips. Sometimes it just takes a little more time
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
It seems like a major time suck to have to start over , but it will be worth it if you think your tek has failed. The jar tek works if you follow it. Some people complain there's too many steps towards cleaniness. Well, there's a reason for it, especially as a first timer. This thread will help you learn the dos and donts. You will get sick of picking fruits doing jar tek lol.
I see your microdosing with great results. The good news is you really dont need more than .5 of a gram a day( i go with .1) 5 days on, 2 days off. So a quarter/half should supply you while you wait for yours to grow. I wouldn't give up on your tek just yet. You've got good members giving you tips. Sometimes it just takes a little more time
Really appreciate that man. I just moved I just started a new grow and now I'm trying this and it's been aggravating trying to talk to people about it hopefully I can find a few good guys on here that'll stick with me and not dog me for trying with everybody recommended. I'm not looking for the easiest way I'm looking for the best way that I'm able to do with my limited knowledge. My goal was to learn this just like I learned cannabis. Simply because I'm trying to better myself I've had a rough ride.
 

ZoomiesCa

Member
I think someone has already written a detailed way on how to grow shrooms, which is impressive, by the way, thanks. I don't know what mushroom you plan to grow, but you can also use sawdust, rye grain and brown rice flour as I've seen others do.
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
I think someone has already written a detailed way on how to grow shrooms, which is impressive, by the way, thanks. I don't know what mushroom you plan to grow, but you can also use sawdust, rye grain and brown rice flour as I've seen others do.
They're doing OK. Still popping out a couple big 7g wet ones. Got this one this morning. It seems like I get a bunch of pins then only a handful grow to full size, which is pretty big.16565874800123260281334662286427.jpg
I got a decent amount of mushrooms off my first try and these two shoe boxes. Definitely could have done better but got a really good feel for it now. I have a variety of spores and am starting more. I think I'm gonna stick with the shoeboxes and try different substrates.
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
Ok, I thrive on theory not just blind instruction.


here is your theory:


Popcorn is the easiest and most contamination proof, if you use too much or too little water in your boil you will only suffer some loss of yield.

Most contamination is attached to particles in the air, those particles take hours to drop down below your table level, you help that along with a through air spray of lysol.

No breeze or air movement means that particles you have missed will be falling slowly straight down, if you open your lid only a little and keep that lid completely over your jar mouth nothing will fall in. If you do not touch your needle to anything else it is possible for a particle to fall on and attach itself to the needle but you are spraying from just inside the jar so your likelihood of that particle dropping again into your jar is minimal.

you are letting nothing touch the syringe and you are keeping the syringe sheath mouth from touching anything either. The entire operation occurs in 5 seconds, not much time for those slow falling particles to go very far.

you are using one syringe for each 6 jars - so even if you contaminate your first syringe on the first jar you still have a second 6 jars with a new syringe.

Your jars are air tight except for the single time you innoculate. The mycelium is growing on the oxygen that is contained in half a quart of air. As your mycelium grows it produces co2 which speeds growth. The longer your mycelium grows however, the more oxygen is used up - your constant shaking ensures that each kernel is colonized at least in part. It takes far longer for mycelium to jump from one kernel to the next than it does for the mycelium to fully engulf or surround a single kernel - that can happen in the course of a single day. You want each kernel to have been touched by the mycelium so that when you do open your jar to supply more oxygen, any contamination that enters will have a single day to germinate on a free bit of kernel, now beyond that, only the top layer is suceptable to immediate contamination. The mycelium will spring back very quickly after it has been refreshed so once each kernel is touched by mycelium, your entire jar will be fully encased.

You are using the jar itself as your fruiting chamber - it already has a perfect microclimate and your loose fitting baggie will contain enough moisture to maintain that climate without a lot of evaporation regardless of the RH in the surrounding air. Furthermore, enough oxygen will enter the sides to keep your mycelium happy. You get the added advantage of being able to case within the jar. So long as you deny the sides any light (the aluminum foil) then you will get no border breaks - and you will find it next to impossible to pick border breaks in a jar without either breaking the jar or ruining the substrate.

You are using two spoons for the same reason you are using two syringes, if you happen to contaminate a spoon the worst you can possibly do is ruin 6 jars. It might be wise to use a third spoon expressly to carry your casing to your jar but it shouldh't be necessary.

the other focus here is modularity. An infected jar will infect no others and is so contained that you can throw it out without the slightest fear that you will spread contaminiant spores. Even the baggies will contain contamination until you have the time to see it appear.

You are taking advantage of the natural anti-contamination aspects of the mycelium as well.

Finally, you are keeping all the jars in the same case, close enough to take advantage of the mycelium's natural tendancy to create it's own heat, so your box will be several degrees hotter than the outside for the duration of time it takes for it to grow through, after that it will cool on it's own as well, signaling the mushroom to begin to fruit.

About the only flaw in this system is if your area gets too hot - nothing above 78 degrees or you will be tempting problems.
I do like this tek my only problem is my pc only fits pints and half pints.
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
I do like this tek my only problem is my pc only fits pints and half pints.
Consider a larger unit if you want to do this in bulk. Remember, you save money in all the niggling things you need for other teks. You could use pints but you won't get a much of a yield.

But I suggested this for the air conservation and inoculation method. No holes, no glove box.
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
Consider a larger unit if you want to do this in bulk. Remember, you save money in all the niggling things you need for other teks. You could use pints but you won't get a much of a yield.

But I suggested this for the air conservation and inoculation method. No holes, no glove box.
Right because the tech you outlined relies on the air left inside the quart jar. So until I get a bigger PC I have to rely on the smaller jars. It sucks but I realize I'm definitely going to need a PC if I want to do this
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
Just picked up this too. So I have wbs, brf, vermiculite, and coco coir. So for now I wanna get some jars going while waiting on more spores and a real pc.16566155013008886136110570311429.jpg
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
Right because the tech you outlined relies on the air left inside the quart jar. So until I get a bigger PC I have to rely on the smaller jars. It sucks but I realize I'm definitely going to need a PC if I want to do this
Well, smaller jars work but...you dont get much colonized substrate with one half to two thirds full half pints.

If you intend to keep this as a hobby, especially edibles, a $90 canning pressure cooker is a sound investment.

And, if you look at testimonials from my tek you find that people are getting 4, 5 six or more flushes from one jar. The total yield can be pretty damn huge.

There is a reason for this. Limitations on yield are first, contamination, next, moisture and finally, nutrient. This mushroom takes a long time to consume all the food in grain so you run out of moisture before you run out of food.

But the jars and bags inhibit loss of moisture from all aspects save the fruit itself.

And.. about bird seed...its tricky, don't be disappointed or frustrated if it doesn't work. I have never found pop corn to fail. I've tried everything from dog food to cheddar cheese.
 
They're doing OK. Still popping out a couple big 7g wet ones. Got this one this morning. It seems like I get a bunch of pins then only a handful grow to full size, which is pretty big.View attachment 5156724
I got a decent amount of mushrooms off my first try and these two shoe boxes. Definitely could have done better but got a really good feel for it now. I have a variety of spores and am starting more. I think I'm gonna stick with the shoeboxes and try different substrates.
Nice One! Thanks for sharing!
 
Top